DELRAY OFFICIALS WANT TO EASE PARKING WOES

Like shoppers suddenly let loose on a spree, members of the city's Downtown Development Authority are seeking ways to spend $201,000 that's burning a hole in the agency's pocket.

Beneficiaries of the outlay will be the merchants and motorists seeking -- often in vain -- to use the city's complex downtown parking system.

"We want to make an impact and do something for the city that will bring people to downtown," said DDA Chairman Connie Tuttle, who proposes spending more than $10,000 on signs to direct motorists to downtown parking lots.

Tuttle's proposal comes on the heels of last week's City Council decision to free a portion of the DDA's revenue, frozen since last summer on the advice of City Attorney Herb Thiele.

Thiele's recommendation was promtted by the then-pending Florida Supreme Court decision on the Lake Worth's effort to dissolve its Utilities Authority.

Though the high court in February struck down the breakup attempt, the case jarred other cities, such as Delray Beach, that have DDAs and taxing bodies similar to the Utilities Authority. Thiele recommended the DDA not finance any projects in the event the court ruling restricted the power of such governmental agencies.

"Obviously, it's in the interest of caution," said Thiele, who also recommended against last week's council action because the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Lake Worth's request for a rehearing.

The DDA is financed through an additional $1 tax per $1,000 of assessed valuation levied on property within its boundary. It also receives parking impact fees contributed by new or expanding businesses which fail to provide the number of parking spaces required by city law.

With its funds now made available, the DDA is seeking to help visitors make their way through the series of side streets and alleys that lead to downtown parking lots.

City officials and DDA members generally agree that, while there may be plenty of downtown parking, most visitors don't know where the parking lots are.

"You really have to know the town to find the lots," said DDA member Lonnie Cook.

Meanwhile, the DDA has asked the city's Board of Realtors to help find a site for a new downtown parking lot. A proposed site just south of Southeast First Street already has been rejected because of its price of $650,000, Cook said.

"I think the funding could be much better used to upgrade the existing lots," he said. "We're really not that bad off downtown, but the council's pressing us to spend the money."

City Council member Malcolm Bird, however, disagrees. Next fall's scheduled opening of the downtown Atlantic Plaza project, will further heighten parking woes for East Atlantic Avenue shops near the Intracoastal Waterway.

"Do we need some more parking? Yes, I think so," Bird said. "But do we need a lot more parking? No.

"Spillover (from Atlantic Plaza) is going to have an impact on the area that has the least amount of parking in the downtown."

Bird supports proposals to build a new city parking lot south of East Atlantic Avenue, just west of the Intracoastal Waterway. The area currently is used for parking by a handful of downtown restaurants.

The measure, however, has prompted an immediate response from residents of that waterfront area, considered one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.

"We're concerned about (the Atlantic Plaza) project and any attempt to rezone our neighborhood," said Robert Karp, spokesman for the newly formed Palm Square-Marine Way Homeowners Association, named for the two streets that would be affected by the parking lot proposal.

The group has sought support from the Delray Beach Historical Society to fight rezoning attempts. Last week, it also asked the City Council to consider a measure restricting street parking to neighborhood residents.